Bengaluru, India—May 8, 2025 — Two of India’s leading DeepTech startups, NextLeap Aeronautics and Accordyne Private Limited, have entered into a Strategic Alliance to develop cutting-edge autonomous swarming capabilities for UAVs, aimed at transforming India’s aerial defense and dual-use drone infrastructure.
The collaboration integrates Accordyne’s secure, cognitive mesh communications platform with NextLeap’s robust UAV systems, enabling intelligent swarm-level operations. These swarms can execute complex missions autonomously—minimizing human intervention and enhancing mission success across a range of operational scenarios.
Swarm autonomy, enabled through hierarchical and decentralized AI algorithms, allows drones to self-coordinate, adapt in real time, and distribute tasks across a dynamic and scalable mesh. This reduces the cognitive burden on human operators while enabling seamless coordination, mission-aware adaptability, and redundancy during operations.
“This partnership is not just about integrating systems—it’s about co-developing the next generation of UAV autonomy.“Together, we are unlocking the full potential of swarm intelligence for India.” “At the heart of this alliance is a shared vision—to revolutionize aerial autonomy,” said Mr. Thaariq Ahmad, COO from NextLeap Aeronautics, and Dr. Neeraj Kumar, PhD, Founder Director of Accordyne Private Limited, while speaking with Defence XP. “By combining Accordyne’s mesh communication technologies with our proven UAV systems, we are pushing the frontiers of what’s possible with autonomous swarms.”
Accordyne brings a rich portfolio in software-defined radios (SDRs), collaborative mesh networks, electronic warfare systems, and distributed AI, essential for secure and adaptive drone communication in contested or GPS-denied environments.
NextLeap, recognized as a leader in UAV systems for defense and homeland security, has deployed over 300 medium-class UAVs across India and maintains a team of DGCA-certified pilots, engineers, and R&D experts focused on indigenous development.
Why Autonomous Swarms Matter for India?
India’s strategic needs in border surveillance, asymmetric warfare, disaster relief, and infrastructure monitoring are driving the demand for autonomous drone swarms. These systems provide force multiplication, resilience against electronic warfare, and real-time decision-making in high-threat environments. With increasing geopolitical tensions and the rise of agile warfare, swarm-capable UAVs are poised to become a core pillar in India’s aerial defense strategy.
This alliance comes at a time when the global UAV ecosystem is rapidly evolving—and India is poised to lead from the front.
